Agreements are the lifeblood of any emerging company. License agreements typically allow founders to bring their technology out of the academic setting and into their companies. Master service agreements are a very common avenue by which emerging companies work with vendors to accomplish research objectives. Collaboration agreements typically define relationships between a company and an industry partner or larger strategic. Understanding these agreements and avoiding pitfalls are critical. This talk with explain the different aspects of such agreements and how they are viewed by venture investors and other strategic partners.